Drusilia's story
by Drusilia
Summary: (I hate doing these, but here goes.) Drusilia, an elf, wishes to follow her parents footsteps and be a freelance adventurer. This is one of the missions I've played. Please RnR, I need the criticisms(constructive only) and it will get better.


The year is that of the Smoldering Ash, according to my friend Whitefire. My name is Drusilia Holimion. I am an elf; I'm one hundred and twenty years old, which is pretty young for an elf. I'm not quite five feet tall, the perfect height for a thief. I'm an adventurer; it's in my blood. Both my parents were of the adventuring sort, may both Corellon Larethian and Nerull rest their souls. You see they both died when I was relatively young. I tried moving in with my aunt, outside of town, but she was too tame. She wished me to wear the restricting human-made clothing that was popular at the time. I was to learn how to run a manor and be a lady of high-ranking society. I wanted no part of this. I wished to follow in my parents' footsteps and go out adventuring. My aunt, though an elf, believed in the human way of life. She believed in corsets and full skirts. If I went out of the house, she would check my wardrobe, to make certain I was not hiding breeches underneath. She also forced an escort upon me, not only because it was wrong for a lady of status to be without one, but also to keep an eye on me. I was not to ride the horses unless I rode sidesaddle and had on the proper attire, either. My aunt forced upon me human suitors, as well. I was "of age" she said. I was supposed to become accustomed to living as humans do, so when I was old enough she invited over various young men. All of them were absolutely infatuated with the idea of marrying a graceful elf. I however had other plans. I endured this lifestyle for far too long for my preference. I finally managed to elude my escort one day while I was out riding. I raced to the market of the nearby town. I searched among the throngs of people and animals until I found a small stand that sold various clothing. I quickly purchased a set of travel clothes and carefully folded them, tucking them under the saddle. I paid the man and then made my way back out of town. As I raced back to my aunt's manor, I prayed my escort had stayed out to look for me, fearful of my aunt's wrath. My prayers were answered, I found my escort who, had become lost when he tried to pursue me. He had tried to track me, as though I were some kind of animal. I found him and, when he asked where I had run off to, I said that I thought I had seen a unicorn and had gone looking for it. I told him I was tired and wished to return home, diverting any further suspicion. I got better and better at eluding my escorts, I performed this feat several times more, until I had acquired a light crossbow and short sword, traveling gear and had joined a local thieves' guild. I made sure that when I did leave my aunt's house permanently, I would have somewhere to go. I began picking the pockets of my suitors and escorts. The men would leave my aunt's house with their purses and pockets either empty or at least considerably lighter than when they had arrived. I had acquired a good amount of money and was a member of a local thieves' guild; I thought it time to leave my aunt. I wrote her a letter, explaining that it was impossible for me to stay with her. I told her how I appreciated her taking me in when my parents died, but that I felt restless. I felt compelled to follow in my parents' footsteps. It took four days for me to word the letter. I would start, and then end up burning that copy because I felt I had added something that might offend her. I did not want to seem ungrateful; she may be perfectly happy living the life of a gentlewoman, I however, had other ambitions. I left the letter on my bed, took the beautiful gowns I had worn while living with her, my newly acquired weaponry and clothing, and climbed out the window. I carefully folded the gowns, for they would only fetch the best price if they were in the best condition, and placed them in my saddlebags. I saddled up the horse my aunt had given me with one of her standard riding saddles -not those sidesaddles- and rode off to the town. Using some of my "earnings," I stayed, for a fair price, at an inn just inside town for the night. The next day I made my way to the market and sold my beautiful gowns before going to the thieves' guild. The thieves' guild offered a certain amount of protection. One of my first real assignments was to steal a certain jewel from a very wealthy, very pompous man. I started off by mingling in with the crowd, edging closer to this man. The man was distracted, talking to another gentleman; this was perfect for me. The plan was to pretend to be knocked forward and bump into the man; while I bumped into him I was to stealthily remove the jewel from his purse. All was going according to plan; I sidled up to my target, but instead of pretending to be knocked into the man, someone ran by me and shoved me forward causing me to lose my balance and come crashing into the man I was trying to steal from. I hit him harder than I meant to and he noticed me; he then proceeded to scold me for having absurd manners! That someone of my lowly stature, judging by my plain clothing, should know better than to even walk closely to someone of his immensely high social status. He then accused me of being arrogant because I was an elf! Words could not describe how much rage I felt. By now I could not take the jewel as his full attention was upon me. His companion was telling him that I was not worth the breath it took to reprimand, but that did not stop him. By now many eyes were upon us as he was complaining loudly about me. I pushed back into the crowd, still glaring back at him. I then promised myself that I would never again make such a mistake. The guild did not reprimand me for they had seen the whole spectacle. I was new to the guild so I was later given another chance, one in which I was not caught and succeeded in stealing what I was supposed to. I was, as with all members, to contribute a portion of my "earnings" to the guild to be distributed equally to all the members. I grew in experience and rose among the ranks of the guild as I grew older. I began gaining a reputation amongst other thieves. I also began taking jobs outside of the guild, or stealing just because I could. Being a thief was a way of life for me. Several years down the line, I got caught trying to lift a bag of spells and ingredients from a cleric I later came to know as Whitefire. He was wandering around the market, perhaps looking for holy relics. I noticed that he was wearing the symbol of Heironeous, the invincible. He shouldn't be too hard; he was not a fighter, he was a man of the religion; he let it rule his life. I had not been caught picking pockets since my run-in with that very wealthy, very pompous "gentleman", so I was not afraid of being caught this time. Apparently Heironeous was on the cleric's side. I walked by, acting like I was in a hurry to get somewhere, needing to walk past the cleric in order to get there. I looked around for the satchel and came very close to bumping into him. He turned towards me and, wagging his finger at me, said, "Tsk, tsk, I would not do what you are considering to do." I was stunned, as he could not possibly have known what I was about to do. Upon seeing my poorly hidden stunned expression, he said in a low voice, "I am no lowly cleric, I can sense your motives. You were going about your business very well; to someone else, you most certainly would have gotten away with your little 'heist.' " He was very appreciative of my thieving abilities, so he introduced himself and several other adventurers in need of a thief. After contemplation, I agreed to join them. My thieves' guild had become aware of Whitefire's offer. This did not please the guild at all. They all believed me to be a traitor and were intent on expelling me from the guild. I was taken, forcefully, to the guildmaster with the expectation of punishment. I pleaded with Devick, the guildmaster, to hear my side of the story. "I have my reasons. If you would just hear me out you would understand." He just stood there staring at me, as I struggled to stand with two large, brute-like humans weighing me down at the arms. "Alright. I will here you out, but I am not promising you anything," he said with a sneer. I regaled him with the story of my parents and how I longed to mirror their lifestyle. Now I finally have my chance to do so. "Put yourself in my place. What would you do?" I asked Devick. He was very still, apparently pondering over what I had said. If I wasn't frightened by him, I would have other wise found him attractive. Devick was quite tall, had dark hair that would fall in his eyes, waiting for him to comb it back with his fingers. He had dark, soft eyes. He hadn't nearly the disturbing appearance as that of his minions. Devick smiled in his own little way and walked forward a few paces. He leaned forward until his face was close to mine, still smiling, and said "Now I have heard your story, but what? You are still deserving of punishment," He stood up, his smile turning to a sneer. He raised his right hand, his rings glinting in the candlelight, and backhanded me. The force of his hand on my face would have sent me reeling, had I not been held up by his thugs. I refused to let him have the satisfaction of seeing me defeated. All I wanted was to be released. I wasn't joining another guild, I wasn't going to steal from this guild, and I probably wasn't even going to be in the same town for long. He turned his back to me, chuckling softly. I licked my lips, tasting my own salty blood. He was overreacting; this wasn't nearly as serious a matter as he was making it out to be. I raised my head, shaking hair out of my face, and glared at my former guildmaster. He snapped his fingers and the guards threw me to the floor. Before I could raise myself to my feet, Devick had turned around, grabbed a handful of my hair, and yanked me to my feet. He pulled harder, tilting my head back. I felt an icy blade press itself against my neck. "You knew when you entered into this guild that I did not allow weaklings. If this guild were found by the law, all of its members would hang, by the edict of the king. What should I think if that were to happen after I let you go?" "If I were to inform the authorities of this guild, then I would have to reveal how I knew it to be a thieves' guild. I would have to take the risk of exposing myself as a thief," I glared at him. Devick looked more alarming than I had ever seen him before. He stood there, still staring coldly at me. Apparently my answer was good enough, because he then dragged me to the door and threw me out and saying, "You may go, but do not expect to be welcome within these walls again." He then ordered his thugs to follow me. I'm not sure whether they were supposed to be following quietly or not, these two could not be quiet to save their lives. They are the type of thieves that intimidate their targets. I ran to the Sword and Dagger Inn, where I had been staying, and ran right up to my room. I shut the door and bolted it behind me. Leaning against the door, I regained my breath, The meeting with the guildmaster had not gone as smoothly as I had hoped. At least I got off with out further injury than a swollen face. I calmly walked over to the mirror provided in my room and assessed my face. I had a cut on my lip and several bruises from Devick's large rings, but I would be fine. I decided to go downstairs and have a drink, provided that Devick's thugs weren't there. I walked quietly downstairs, so as not to draw undue attention. With a quick sweep of the area, I concluded that it was safe and made my way to the bar. The bartender, Aidan, took one look at me and asked if I had been in a fight. "You could say that," I replied stiffly, my swollen face making talking difficult for me. I looked around to make sure nobody was concentrating on our conversation and continued in a low voice, "I found a group of adventurers who are in need of my skills, I agreed to join them. I went to talk to Devick, about being released from the guild. Let us say that the meeting did not go as I had hoped." I told him the short version of what had happened. Aidan just looked at me. He said nothing as he went to the back room, returning with a cold piece of meat, wrapped in cloth and a glass of mead. "Here put this on that face of yours and maybe it won't bruise up too bad." I thanked him, and took a swig of mead. I had known Aidan for a long time. He had known my parents and understood my feelings about wanting to adventure like them. I could tell from his expression that he did not approve of my actions. He knew that a thieves' guild was not the safest place to be, but I did have a certain amount of protection when I was a member. What he did not know was that the guild was becoming an increasingly more dangerous place to be, the law had caught and hung several of the guild members. My leaving the guild probably spared me an end at the gallows. I took another swig of mead and looked around the tavern commons area. I turned the meat over to the cooler side, my face thanking me. I finished off my mead and wandered over to the commons area, listening faintly to the bards tell their tales. I found a chair near the fire and settled in, listening to the people around me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a bard looking in my direction. He caught my eye and kept looking. I turned my gaze to the fire, listening to the bard sing of the betrayal and disloyalty of a young woman towards her betrothed. After he finished his song, I turned to look at him; he was still staring at me. He stood up, gently set his lute down and walked over to the chair next to me and sat down. "Whitefire sends word," he said calmly, still staring at me. My head shot up. "How do you know Whitefire?" I asked, perplexed as to how he knew I knew Whitefire. "He is an old friend. He wishes you to meet him in this very tavern tomorrow evening. Do not leave the inn, for Devick is still angered with your leaving. His is angry for more reasons than one." I looked at him perplexed, "What do you mean 'more reasons than one?' " He waved away my question, like waving away a fly. "Do not leave the inn-" "How do I know you're not one of Devick's minions? What's to stop me from leaving? How do I know I can trust you?" The bard produced a trinket from a pocket inside his vest, "Whitefire told me you might say that. He asked me to give you this," he said holding out a gold coin on a chain. I took it and examined it; on one side, it had the fist of Heironeous grasping a bolt of lightening, and on the reverse it had a large 'W' wreathed in fire. "Alright, now I believe you." This was the holy symbol that was on Whitefire's cleric vestments when I had tried to take his satchel of spells. I told the bard I would stay and wait for Whitefire. The bard bid me goodnight and then left. I sat, staring into the fire, fingering the medallion until the tavern emptied. I picked up the meat and took it back to Aidan "What am I to do with this? It's been out all evening," he demanded. "Just fry it up anyway," I grinned, shrugging my shoulders. "It should taste fine." I ascended the stairs to the wing where my room was, pulling out my key. I fitted it into the lock and let myself in. Throwing my weapons down on the floor, I kicked off my boots and sunk into the bed. Sometime during the night, I awoke to the sound of light footsteps coming up the stairs. My lamp had burned itself out, giving me cover of dark, though I could still see. I reached for my dagger belt and sword. I tucked them up beside me. The footsteps stopped at my door. I could hear the soft clink of metal on metal. My heart began beating harder. Aidan had a key, Whitefire would have no need to pick a lock, and the bard had left. I heard the click of my lock opening, the handle turned slowly, a non-elf would not have so much as stirred in their sleep; I remained alert. I unsheathed a dagger and calculated approximately where the throat would be on an average sized humanoid. The door began very carefully to swing forward. All my muscles tensed in anticipation. My assailant, a man, came into view. Without waiting for him to notice me, I threw my dagger, releasing all the pent-up energy within me. It sunk into his throat; blood bubbled up through his wound, flowing back into his lungs, slowly drowning him. He fell forward, clutching his throat. I swung my legs over the bedside and leapt to my attacker's side. I grabbed a fistful of his hair and removed the cloth covering his face. I forced myself to stifle a gasp. I recognized him; this was one of Devick's assassins; a rather poorly trained one at that. His eyes were large, his face drained of all color and clammy. I let go of his hair and ran out the door. I turned right, heading for Aidan's room. I knocked softly, trying not to awaken any other patrons. I heard a loud snort then a groggy voice say, "who's there?" "It's me, Drusilia. I need to speak with you," I whispered urgently. The door opened and Aidan appeared, wearing a nightshirt, wielding a large candlestick. "What is it? It's not even first light," he whined, squinting through tired eyes. I explained what had happened just moments before. "Well where is the body?" he grimaced. "He's still in the room." "You left him?" he whispered angrily. "We had best clear this up before the authorities discover what happened and refuse to listen to your side." We crept quietly back to where the assassin lay. Aidan winced slightly upon seeing the blood, but quickly regained his composure as he helped me cover the assassin's neck with a cloth. We dragged the body down the stairs and out the back door, deep into the woods. We ran back to the inn and began to clean the blood off the floor; finishing just as the day's first light began to creep up from behind the forest. The inn slowly began to wake up around us. The sound of feet shuffling down the stairs increased. Aidan went back to his room and dressed quickly. His wife, Eva, was already downstairs in the kitchen making breakfast when he came hurried down the stairs. 


End file.
